After 23 years of Safer Internet Days, are children any safer?

Governments say the era of self-regulation is over, but until we tackle the 'launch first, figure out the harm later' thinking, nothing will change, writes Alex Cooney of CyberSafeKids

While researchers debate the scale of harm, the evidence that children are being harmed is undeniable. File photo

It’s been 23 years since the first Safer Internet Day and the sad fact is that if we ask ourselves are we any closer to having made the online world safe for children, then the answer is no.

I say that having spent the last decade working for a safer internet, and as a parent of teenagers who are now active online users themselves, like all their friends.